The Forum is where we publish first-person essays and interviews about various aspects of the industry.

We are honored to be joined by Kalpona Akter, Robyn Lawley, and Judy Gearthart to speak about how women working at opposite ends of fashion’s supply chain could stand in solidarity to forge a more just and sustainable industry. From the runway to the factory floor, women and girls are finding their voice and calling for greater transparency and accountability in the fashion industry.

We spoke with Claudia Wagner, a model and the co-founder of UBOOKER; Madisyn Ritland, a model and the co-founder of The Lions Model Management NY; and Sanjay Pinto, a sociologist and fellow at The Worker Institute at Cornell University. Together, we discussed the current state of the modeling industry, models’ working relationships with their agencies, and how models’ working lives could be improved by giving them more voice, rights, and control over their work.

We first met Kimberly at her Fashion & Justice Workshop, which she developed with her collaborator at Harvard, Jonathan Michael Square. The workshop serves as an entry point to examine the role of fashion in challenging inequality through sartorial ingenuity.

We first met Kimberly at her Fashion & Justice Workshop, which she developed with her collaborator at Harvard, Jonathan Michael Square. The workshop serves as an entry point to examine the role of fashion in challenging inequality through sartorial ingenuity.

We are honored to speak with Jonathan Square, a writer and professor of history at Harvard University, who specializes in fashion and visual culture in the African Diaspora. His course “Fashion and Slavery” explores the politics of fashion among people of African descent during slavery and the period immediately followed by emancipation. Jonathan explains how the fashion system is intimately linked to the institution of slavery, and also how dress and adornment can serve as a form of radical self-determination.

We are honored to speak with Jonathan Square, a writer and professor of history at Harvard University, who specializes in fashion and visual culture in the African Diaspora. His course “Fashion and Slavery” explores the politics of fashion among people of African descent during slavery and the period immediately followed by emancipation. Jonathan explains how the fashion system is intimately linked to the institution of slavery, and also how dress and adornment can serve as a form of radical self-determination.

Madeline Hill, Miranda Frum and Harvard Chan School of Public Health professor Dr. Bryn Austin join us in the lead up to New York Fashion Week to talk eating disorders. From subtle reminders to “tone up,” to being told to “shed inches off your face,” Hill and Frum explain the pressures they faced and how eating disorders in the modeling industry aren’t just an issue of media and representation, but are a workers’ rights issue and, fundamentally, a human rights issue.

Madeline Hill, Miranda Frum and Harvard Chan School of Public Health professor Dr. Bryn Austin join us in the lead up to New York Fashion Week to talk eating disorders. From subtle reminders to “tone up,” to being told to “shed inches off your face,” Hill and Frum explain the pressures they faced and how eating disorders in the modeling industry aren’t just an issue of media and representation, but are a workers’ rights issue and, fundamentally, a human rights issue.

Model turned health advocate, Nikki Dubose, discusses Assembly Bill 2539. "You cannot tell if someone has an eating disorder just by looking at them and the goal is to ensure that models are not jeopardizing their health for their careers. To be clear, you can be thin, average or plus size and still be healthy."

"It’s a relief to know that if anything happens to my physical or mental health, I can now rely on decent health insurance to take care of basic needs. I encourage fellow models to do the same, and I am grateful that a partnership like this now exists. Beauty really is from the inside out. "